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Tsipras played his last chips

By calling for a referendum on 5 July on on the series of austerity measures demanded by Greece’s creditors in exchange for a bail-out plan, Greek prime minister spread distrust among Eurozone partners and put his country on the brink of economic disaster.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras played his last chips and the country is already experiencing the results. If he has come to terms with the idea of Greece returning to the drachma then you can see some logic in his tactics – not for the country, not for its people but for him personally. If not, then he will have to pull a U-turn before it’s too late.

Tsipras will need to address the Greek people and admit that he played his last chips as he did because that’s what he thought they wanted and then explain the losses and gains of his strategy. He will have to muster up the courage to accept whatever proposal is presented to him as a solution of last resort. And this will take a lot of courage.

The more time that Tsipras allows to pass the more the country’s situation will deteriorate. Those who want to see Greece devolve into chaos will salute him. The beleaguered Greeks who believe in false promises and false bravado will also salute him. In the meantime, however, Greece will keep tumbling down the cliff, and fast.

Tsipras may still have a slight chance to stop this historical accelerator from stirring into action. This will be evident if he receives one more offer. It is not at all certain that something like this will happen.

In Brussels and other European capitals, officials have lost complete trust in him. He has used so many harsh words against everyone and spoken so negatively about what an agreement could entail that it appears he has burned all his bridges.